Factors Shaping Occupational Injustice among Resettled Syrian Refugees in the United States

Abstract

Background. There have been a limited number of studies that have focused on factors which shape the experiences of resettlement and occupational injustice among refugee populations. Purpose. To explore the factors that shape the living difficulties of Syrian refugees who were lawfully admitted into the United States and ways whereby they might interfere with shaping occupational injustice. Method. Mixed methodologies were incorporated. The living difficulty scale for refugees (LDSR) was disseminated. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and fieldnotes were collected as sources of qualitative data. Results. 254 participants (mean age 36.2 ± 9.6 yrs; 159 females and 95 males) completed the survey, and nine of them participated in the semistructured interviews. Age ( p < 0.01 ), region ( p < 0.001 ), and time in the United States ( p < 0.05 ) had significant effects on the experiences of the participants, but not gender ( p = 0.308 ). Occupational injustice is an outcome of an interaction between interpersonal and contextual factors. Practice Implications. Occupational therapists need to assume a vital role in maximizing opportunities of engagement in meaningful occupations for Syrian refugees to counteract occupational injustice and difficulties associated with resettlement.

Predictors, barriers, and facilitators to refugee women’s employment and economic inclusion: A mixed methods systematic review

“…This review involved 31 studies which include 11 quantitative, 19 qualitative, and one mixed-methods study. Of the included studies, the highest number of studies were conducted in the USA [ 8 , 30 – 33 ], and one that involved both the US and the Netherlands [ 34 ]. Four studies were conducted in Sweden [ 15 , 35 – 37 ], including one that spanned both Lebanon and Sweden [ 38 ].…”

Development of the Refugees and Asylum Seekers Occupational Satisfaction (RASOS) Assessment Tool

“…Religious or spiritual occupations relate to personal resilience and expression of identity [54]. Managing communications with public services is often confusing for newly arrived individuals, particularly considering the language barrier [8]. Important issues often concern characteristic elements of life in a Western society, such as the management of personal documents and accounts [52].…”

“…Refugees and asylum seekers face many psycho-social difficulties associated with resettlement [4], which relate to personal, social, and cultural factors [5]. The disruption of rituals, routines, and roles, in conjunction with repetitive trauma and instability [6], interferes with participation in meaningful occupations, referring to what we call "occupational injustice" [7,8]. Occupational injustice is experienced when a person is denied of their occupational rights and is marginalized from or deprived of the opportunity to engage in meaningful occupations [8].…”

Occupational Concepts: An Underutilized Resource to Further Disabled People and Others Being Occupied: A Scoping Review

“…"Occupational injustice" refers to restricted access to occupational possibilities and various other occupational concepts are used to flag various ways to and consequences of restricting the access such as occupational alienation [26][27][28][29][30]70]; "occupational deprivation" [24,25], "occupational apartheid" [50] and "occupational marginalization" [18,28]. "Occupational injustice" is heavily influenced by one's social position [71][72][73] and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [53] reveals that disabled people are in a low social position and experience many occupational injustices. Barriers to engagement in meaningful occupation are considered injustices [18,43,44].…”

“…Occupational injustice refers to restricted access to occupational possibilities and is related to concepts such as occupational alienation [26][27][28][29][30]70], occupational deprivation [25,250], occupational apartheid [50] and occupational marginalization [18,28,251]. Occupational injustice is heavily influenced by one's social position [71][72][73], which is based on fulfilling valued abilities, something which is impacting many marginalized groups.…”